Henneth Annun Reseach Center

Places in Middle-earth

Brandywine River

Other Names Baranduin. Older versions from HoMe were Branduin, and "Malvern, derived from its Noldorin name Malevarn."

Location: The river originates as an outflow of Lake Nenuial (Lake Evendim) nestled in the Hills of Evendim. It makes a large loop east, south, and then southwest; the first of several loops indicating a mature river. The Brandywine continues a southerly course past The Shire, gradually heading west to reach the sea.

Description: "Both names refer to the river's colour, often in flood a golden brown, which is indeed the meaning of the Elvish name."Peoples of Middle-earth, Part 1, Ch II, The Appendix on Languages, Commentary, Section 25.

"It ran all the way from Brandywine Bridge, in a big loop curving away from the river, to Haysend (where the Withywindle flowed out of the Forest into the Brandywine)."FotR, Book I, Ch 5, A Conspiracy Unmasked

"To the South, over the line of the Withywindle, there was a distant glint like pale glass where the Brandywine River made a great loop in the lowlands and flowed away out of the knowledge of the hobbits."FotR, Book I, Ch 8, Fog on the Barrow-Downs